Anonymous donor plans to leave envelopes stuffed with cash all over Houston

Published 3:59 pm, Thursday, June 5, 2014

A cash giveaway craze that's been sweeping the nation has made it to Houston, with an anonymous social networker organizing a citywide "cash drop" for Friday.

Earlier this week, envelopes stuffed with cash were left all over San Antonio and Austin with clues left online to help people track down the money.

Scavenger hunters posted pictures of themselves with their finds on Twitter. Cash prizes ranged from $20-$200.

The Austin version, called Moolah Mystery, began Tuesday and appears to be continuing in the surrounding area. Posts leading users to money in Georgetown are live on the site and organizers say they will be in San Marcos next week.

No one knows who is behind it all and it's not clear if the giveaways are connected. While some organizers put in money themselves, Houston Hidden Gifts held its first event Wednesday and seems to be relying on the general public to provide the gifts.

Well meaning people were encouraged via Twitter to go to M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and offer up money and to patients and their families at the hospital for treatment.

The "random acts of kindness" event was pulled after M.D. Anderson officials raised concerns about privacy and patient safety.

A tweet from @MDAndersonNews to Houston Hidden Gifts said, "We appreciate all this but there are better ways to help given patient's compromised immune systems and privacy issues."

"Some people brought things like shoes or money, at one point folks offered a free hug. It was kind of up to the participants to show their support," said Jim Newman, director of external communications at the hospital, "We thought it was a great thing but in the future we want to coordinate with them from the start."

Houston Hidden Gifts has not given up, though. The as yet anonymous organizer goes by the Twitter handle @houstonhiddengifts and has also claims to be suffering from cancer.

The account's latest tweet said, "Thanks for a great day of fun and support. Body needs a rest so will return later."

The account, created Tuesday, already has 7,811 followers.

No details of the Friday event have been posted beyond a message that says some ideas for where to leave gifts or money will be put up along with some "restrictions."

Houston Hidden Gifts, Moolah Mystery and the San Antonio events appear to be copycats of @hiddencash which launched in San Francisco in May. Similar social media events have sprung up across the country including in New Orleans, Dallas and Washington D.C.

Latest from the Chron.com Homepage

Click below for the top news from around the Houston area and beyond. Sign up for our newsletters to be the first to learn about breaking news and more. Go to 'Sign In' and 'Manage Profile' at the top of the page.